In Sickness and in Health
by WingsOfADream
Summary: COMPLETE: Harry's got a nasty case of flu but he refuses to rest, instead opting to continue his secret liaisons with Draco at night. That turns out to be a very bad decision. Happy, fluffy SLASH ahoy! :D
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone :)

Since I got some good reviews for my past few last oneshots, I thought I'd have a stab at a short multi-chapter piece. And it will be short, no more than three, maybe four, chapters. I've still got another story to completely finish before I start on anything else major and I refuse to get myself into a situation where I have several stories all on the go at once. And what's the point of this story? There is no point; it's just sweet, fluffy fluff for the sake of fluff :D  
Anyways, as for where this particular figmant of my over-active imagination came from. You can all thank my big brother for this because this was all inspired by him. He's got a really nasty cold at the moment and has spent the last few days all tucked up in bed while me and my mum run around getting stuff for him. It was while I was checking up on him last Sunday that we were discussing his symptoms and he said that he felt really cold and it was that which gave me the idea. You'll all see how my Harry and Draco loving mind twisted that one little concept into copious amounts of fluff very soon :D  
This takes place in the 6th Year and, as with so many stories at the moment, take absolutely no notice of HBP what so ever.

WARNING: This is SLASH people. That's right; happy, fluffy, oh-my-God-that's-so-cute slash. No deeply angsty stuff here, just the very bare minimum, (and I do mean bare minimum, Disney movies have more angst than this). Anyways, if anyone has a problem with that, any problem at all, I won't stop you from leaving. I don't want any flamers but any that I do recieve will be dealt with -.-

DISCLAIMER: I really don't see the point of these. Like anyone is actually ever going to believe that I own Harry Potter. I mean, even if I were to say that I was the J K Rowling, I seriously doubt even 1 of anyone reading this would believe me. But, people get cranky if you don't say anything so for those people: I don't own therefore you don't sue.

That's all from me for now, see you all again at the bottom of the page and please enjoy your time here :)

* * *

Midnight darkness flooded the corridors and classrooms of Hogwarts and most of it's residents, students and teachers alike, were deeply asleep in their rooms. However, as with every generalisation, there were exceptions, the two which would be found the most intriguing are those which are the focus of this story.

The silence of the Astronomy Tower was suddenly broken by the small groan of old wood which sounded as the door into the room was pushed open very slightly. A head crowned with messy dark hair poked through the gap which had been created and peered into the room which was dimly illuminated with silvery moon light. They noted that, on the plus side, there was no one there, however that was also the down side at the same time.

With a light sigh, the head retracted and the door was pushed the rest of the way open slowly to avoid further groaning. A figure dressed in a pair of red and green plaid pyjamas bottoms and an over-sized grey hooded top quickly slipped into the room before gently pushing the door shut again. After that, the muscles of the figure visibly relaxed and they turned away from the door to move further into the room.

Coming to stand by one of the windows, the figure was lit up to be revealed as none other than Harry Potter; a Harry Potter with tired eyes and a suspiciously red nose. He leaned again the corner of the left edge of an alcove and hugged himself as he shivered. His feet were bare, totally exposed to the cold stone beneath, and all his exposed skin seemed to be a shade or so paler than it usually was.

Harry tilted his head back slightly to look up at the night sky. The moon was high above in it's crescent form and if he watched it very carefully, he could see it move across the night sky very slowly. They were a familiar sight now; the moon and the stars at around one o'clock in the morning. He saw them six out of the seven mornings in a week now but only as something to occupy his time with until the real purpose for his late night/extremely early morning escapades arrived. Yes, they were only a mild distraction.

How long had it been now? Six months since it had been acknowledged if he remembered correctly and about five months since he had realised that nightly meetings once in a while wasn't enough. So it had been about five months since he had slept through the night two days in a row. In one way, it seemed like it had been a much shorter amount of time and yet, he still couldn't remember what it was like for things not to be this way.

He sniffed and adjusted his position a little, bringing the sleeve of his top to rub across his nose as he moved. Harry noted with displeasure that he had a slightly blocked nose and his throat felt mildly scratchy. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, after a few days of ignoring the feeling of rough health, he could no longer deny that he was obviously ill or at least well on the way to becoming ill. It was most likely nothing, a minor common cold, but that didn't mean much when one was surrounded by people who were immediately at his side if he so much as frowned without apparant reason. He appreciated the sentiments behind such actions, he honestly did, he just wished that everyone would relax a little. Especially one certain someone...

As if on cue, thin, though strong and slightly muscular, arms suddenly wrapped around Harry's waist from behind and a chin settled comfortably on his shoulder. A firm chest pressed against his back and a pair of warm lips connected with his cheek for a brief moment. With a happy sigh, Harry allowed the new warmth to heat him, his hands coming to rest on top of the ones now resting on his abdomen.

"You're hands are freezing." The familiar voice of Draco Malfoy whispered in his ear as the hands on his stomach shifted so their fingers could lace together.

"You know what they say; cold hands, warm heart." Harry replied, noting that Draco's hands were wonderfully warm just like the rest of him.

"Muggle rubbish." The blonde muttered, mostly to himself, as he pulled Harry a little closer to his body in order to help the warming up process.

"Speaking of things which are rubbish, you'll never believe what I heard today." Harry said with a grin.

"Mmm?" Came his companion's slightly muffled hum as he had his face buried in Harry's shoulder.

"Apparantly you've been getting very friendly with Tara Sullivan."

"Who?" Draco asked, lifting his head a little.

"Fourth year Slytherin. Kinda short, long mousey brown hair, glasses."

"Doesn't ring any bells." He shrugged. "Who made that one up then?"

"I think it was more a case of her friends jumping to the wrong conclusions; you sneaking out every night obviously hasn't gone un-noticed and apparantly she's been doing the same thing. I didn't stick around long enough to hear whether she denied it or not, I was already late for Transfigerations as it was." Harry explained to him.

"Stupid gossips; couldn't be further from the truth if they tried." The mumbled reply came shortly before a rain of small wet kisses showered down on Harry's neck and cheek making the Gryffindor shiver in pleasure and grip the Slytherin's hands a little tighter.

A comfortable silence came over them then and neither said anything for quite some time. During the silence, Draco freed one of his hands so that he could rub Harry's stomach in soothing circular motions which caused Harry's head to lull back against his shoulder. They both looked up at the moon and stars, just enjoying being together and being in contact. It was only when Harry sniffed loudly and coughed several times rather harshly that conversation started up again.

"You're ill." Draco accused him gently, his free hand coming up to press against Harry's forehead to check his temperature.

"Just a bit of a cold, it's nothing." The dark haired Gryffindor assured.

"You should be in bed, getting rest and staying warm." Draco sighed but made no move to pull away. In fact, he moved his hand away from the others forehead and instead combed his fingers through the strands of his dark hair.

"I don't want to be in bed, I am resting and you're plenty warm enough for me." Harry argued lightly, snuggling further into the blonde's arms just to emphasise the point. "We don't get to be together all that much anyway and I refuse to give up the short time we do have."

"What would you rather? Miss one night of meeting up so that you can get some rest or miss several nights in a row because you're too ill to even leave your bed?" Draco challenged as harshly as he could manage, which turned out to be not that harsh at all.

"Oh don't be so dramatic." Harry chided, gently smacking the pale hand which held his own right hand which had regained some of it's colour now that it was a little warmer.

"I'm not being dramatic." Draco grumbled.

"Yes you are. I'll be fine. I bet you anything that this is the worst I'll get."

"That doesn't mean anything from you. You're so bloody selfless that you'd say "I'm fine" if you were missing an arm and your spleen was half hanging out of your side." Harry shrugged but said nothing. "You need to stop being the martyr and start thinking about yourself once in a while. I'll get premature wrinkles if I have to keep worrying about you on your behalf. Wrinkles Harry, wrinkles! You want a wrinkly boyfriend?"

"There's no need for you to worry about me. You have enough of your own problems to deal with without concerning yourself with my minor cold." Harry told him gently, ignoring his comment on the wrinkles. The boy behind him tensed as he said this and Harry turned to look at him. "What is it?" He inquired softly, giving the hand in his a supportive squeeze and a supportive jostle.

"I got a letter from mother this evening; They keep asking after me."

Harry's heart sank and he knew who They were instantly. The Death Eaters. As Draco's birthday got closer and closer, so did the time when he was expected to take the Dark Mark and also the time when their relationship would have to come out. He had been the first person Draco had gone to when he decided that he wanted nothing to do with the Death Eaters and, after making sure that it wasn't some kind of trap, Harry had promised to protect Draco from being forced into taking the Mark. Their relationship had begun soon after that.

Draco was still tense behind Harry and it was obvious that the recollection of the news had brought buried anxiety and fear to the surface. With a small sigh, Harry turned in his arms so that they were face to face. The grey eyes of the other boy were shut tightly and he had a hard look of concentration on his face; he was trying not to cry.

"Hey, it's okay, nothing will happen to you, I promise." Harry murmured to him, bringing his arms around the slightly taller boy and gently pulling his head down to rest on his shoulder.

"I'm scared Harry." Draco whispered brokenly, his voice tinted with the first hint of forming tears.

"I know you are darling, I know." Harry soothed, running his hand down the blonde's head and along the length of his neck. Draco buried his face firmly in the slope of Harry's neck and let out a long, shuddered breath. He clung to the shorter boy almost desperately.

"I'm sorry." Draco breathed.

"What for?" Harry asked gently.

"For being like this. For being so scared."

"Don't be silly. You have nothing to be sorry for. Everybody gets scared."

"You don't." Draco pointed out.

"I'm the Boy-Who-Lived; I'm not allowed to get scared." Harry sighed, his tone wavering somewhere between bitterness and grim amusement.

"What if They make me take it?" Draco asked suddenly, his voice still quivering slightly.

"Then we'll find a way to take it off." Harry insisted confidently. "I won't let Them take you away from me."

Draco finally shifted his position, raising his head off of Harry's shoulder. His eyes were slightly damp and a little blood-shot and were locked in an intense gaze with Harry's. Then, in an instant, Harry found himself pressed back against the wall behind him with Draco's lips furiously pressed against his. He found himself too surprised to react for several moments and could only stare at the blonde's closed eyes which were right in front of him. However, he soon managed to snap out of his stupor and kissed back earnestly. Their tongues met and entwined desperately and they remained joined until Harry had to pull away to breathe as his nose was too blocked to provide him with the sufficiant amount of oxygen he needed.

"Sorry, I'm a bit stuffed up." He said in between his panting, with a slightly embarrassed smile upon seeing the confused expression on Draco's face. The look faded with that explanation and the blonde smiled a little before stepping closer, closing the slight gap between them. He lowered his head down and brushed his nose against Harry's a few times before moving to nuzzle his cheek affectionately.

"I love you." Draco whispered to him.

"I love you too." Harry returned, his left hand running smoothly through his silky blonde hair.

"No matter what happens." The blonde continued, stopping the nuzzling and opting instead for simply pressing his cheek against the other boy's.

"We're gonna be okay you know. We're gonna be fine." Harry assured, hearing the unspoken prediction Draco had just made. "We'll plan everything out: how we'll handle everything; how we'll tell everyone. We won't leave anything to chance. And, no matter what happens, I'll always be standing right by you, holding your hand. I won't leave you alone."

Draco said nothing, but that was all right; there wasn't really anything he needed to say. The blonde settled down in Harry's arms again and another comfortable silence rang throughout the Astronomy Tower.

* * *

And that my friends is Chapter One. How was it? Should I continue, (even though I'm going to even if no one says to)? Let me know :)

Hugs  
Dream


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone :)

I'm back with Chapter 2. Woo hoo! (sets off a party popper) Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I'm glad you all enjoyed it. Due to new policy of not allowing review replies in chapters, (shakes fist angrily at whoever thought of that idea) I haven't replied to anyone's reviews. However, I will in the future if anyone asks a question or says something I really can't help but comment on :D

Okay, because it just doesn't look right without a lot of writing here, I'm going to babble on a bit. This chapter's babble theme is the latest Harry Potter movie. Hands up who's seen it? I saw it the first day it came out in Britain, dragged my two best friends with me. Anyways, the point I wanted to make here is that a lot of people have been complaining about how much they skipped in the film like Hermione's SPEW project. In some ways, I agree, it does suck that they skipped it out but in other ways it's totally understandable that they skipped it. I mean, can you imagine how long the film would've been if they had included every little detail? It just wouldn't be possible to fit it all in. And that's my reason why you can't hold that particular fact against Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

It's still looking weird but I've gone on for long enough. On with the chapter :D

* * *

The moment Harry woke up, he really wished that he hadn't. As reality seeped into his sleep-addled mind, he made a horrible discovery. He was ill; really ill. He felt absolutely awful. His head was pounding, he felt completely congested, his throat was so raw he wondered if he'd accidently eaten a length of barbed wire and he was freezing cold even though there was a heating charm on his bed. As he woke up a little more, the knowledge that he had two projects to hand in that day caused him to groan. He couldn't even have the day off. 

After retrieving his glasses and reluctantly pulling off the sheets which had covered him, Harry stood carefully. However, he had only taken one step when a wave of faintness washed over him. He fell forwards suddenly and only just managed to grab hold of one of the posts of his bed to stop himself from hitting the floor.

For several moments he just stood there, clinging to the post in order to stop himself from crumbling to the floor in a limp heap. His eyes were shut lightly and his breathing was rather uneven. He frowned stubbornly as a little voice told him that he wasn't going to make it through the day. Of course he could make it through the day. It was just a little cold, nothing he hadn't had before. He could, and would, ignore it.

Once his breathing had evened out and his vision had cleared, Harry straightened out and began to support his own weight again. He began to walk forward, towards the door to the dorm room, quietly, so he didn't wake the other boys, with unsteady legs and his arms held out to the sides very slightly in an unconscious bid to try and steady himself. Every muscle in his body ached and felt like jelly and there was a heavy thumping in his head.

But that wasn't even the worst part. What was the worst part? Draco had been completely right.

* * *

It was Breakfast time at Hogwarts and the whole school had gathered in the Great Hall to all fill their stomachs before their day of lessons began. However, filling his stomach was the last thing on Harry's mind. He was too busy trying to control the waves of dizziness which hit him every few moments to think about the lack of food in his stomach. If he was completely honest though, he wasn't particularly hungry anyway. It wasn't the kind of not hungry where any food would spend all of two minutes in his stomach before "magically" reappearing again. He just didn't feel hungry in the least; there was no desire to eat at all. 

"Really Harry, you should try to eat at least a little something." Hermione encouraged from where she sat across from him.

"Yeah, keep your strength up and all that." Ron agreed from his left, giving Harry's arm a nudge of encouragement.

"Please Harry? Even just one slice of toast? Dry toast, no butter or anything." Hermione tried. Harry merely shook his head gently, screwing his eyes shut and bringing his right hand up to press against his forehead as another dizzy spell clouded his vision.

"Maybe you should reconsider going to classes today mate." Ron suggested sensibly.

"Can't, got those projects to hand in remember?" Harry pointed out, his voice coming out as a harsh croak which surprised even him.

"You should go and see Madame Pomfrey before our first class at least." Hermione told him.

"There's no need to bother her, it's just a cold." Harry insisted. "I'm fine."

"Harry, we learnt a long time ago that "I'm fine" coming from you means very little. You'd say you were fine if you lost an arm and half of your spleen was hanging out of your stomach." Hermione chided causing Harry to have to bite back a laugh. He wondered how his best friends would react if they ever discovered that Draco had said the exact same thing to him the night before.

Reminded of Draco, Harry was suddenly aware of the gaze which felt like it was drilling into his mind. Lifting his eyes to look up, he saw Draco, just as he thought he would, glaring at him. However, it wasn't just an ordinary I-don't-like-you glare. To Harry's well trained eye, it was very clear that the glare was half worried and half a silent taunt of I-told-you-so.

"Ugh, Malfoy's sunk to a new low. Can't he see that you're not up to a staring contest right now?" Ron muttered, turning to glare at the blonde Slytherin on Harry's behalf.

Draco's nose wrinkled in distaste at the attention from Ron and turned away, going back to listening to Zabini who sat next to him, or at least pretending to listen to him. Harry looked away as well and his eyes were caught by Hermione's; she obviously wasn't about to drop the subject of his health.

"Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll take the afternoon off and spend it in bed." Harry offered, holding back the urge to cough half way through the sentence.

Hermione sighed at him tiredly. "If that's the best that we're going to get out of you then I guess it'll have to do. But we'll keep you to that Harry."

"I don't doubt that you will." Harry told her with a weak grin, touched by the concern of his two best friends.

* * *

Draco was annoyed. No, scratch that; he was beyond annoyed. He was angry. He was angry with Harry for being too stubborn to look after himself properly, he was angry at Ron and Hermione because they were allowed to fuss over the ill boy publicly, he was angry with Fate for making him a Malfoy and therefore a (supposed) enemy of Harry Potter from birth and he was angry with himself for not insisting that Harry went to bed last night. He should've tried harder to get the Gryffindor to co-opperate but his own selfish desires had stopped any real protests; he had wanted to be there with Harry as much as Harry had wanted to be there with him. 

"If the wind changes your face will get stuck like that." The voice of Pansy came from his right suddenly.

"Shut up Parkingson." He growled.

"Now, now Draco, just because he's ill is no reason to be mean." She chided him easily. Draco sent a scathing glare her way and she shook her head at him lightly. "Don't worry, it's not common knowledge, as far as I know I'm the only one who's noticed. Don't know why though, you can be terribly obvious sometimes. Right now for example."

"I'm surprised you haven't blackmailed me or told my father or your father." Draco murmured, going back to staring across the hall at Harry.

Pansy wrinkled her nose. "And I'm surprised you think so little of me." Draco raised a delicate eyebrow at her. "Okay, so I'm not that surprised about that. I am surprised you think I'm some sort of mindless Dark Lord server though."

"You're not?" That was news to him.

"Of course I'm not." She scoffed. "Anyone with half a brain cell knows that Potter's going to come out of this war shining. I plan on staying neutral or at least privately supporting "The Light"." She made little air quotes with her fingers as she said that. "I've no interest in spying, fighting or anything the least bit noble. I'll keep myself to myself and won't bother anyone and in return I should hope no one will bother me. I take it you're not up for the passive role in this war?"

"I don't know." Draco admitted quietly, looking down at his plate. "I want to be at Harry's side and fight for him but...I don't know if I'm strong enough...Or brave enough for that matter."

"I think you under-estimate just how brave you are Draco." Pansy revealed, patting his hand which was closest to her. "It takes a lot of courage to stand up to someone like your father, it takes a lot of strength to stand against everything you've been raised to believe and say it's not true. And if anyone can do it, I think it's you."

"What if I'm not strong enough in the end though? What if I lose my nerve? I know I'd fold like a piece of paper under any number of curses my father could and would cast on me."

"You will be strong enough." Pansy assured him simply and confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, looking up at her.

"Because whatever you do, you'll do it out of love and not from fear." She told him gently before standing and patting his shoulder encouragingly. "C'mon, we've got Ancient Runes first."

Draco nodded and stood gracefully, looking back over at the Gryffindor table as he did so; Harry, Weasley and Granger were also getting ready to leave at the moment. He saw that as Harry stood he wavered uncertainly before sagging forward slightly, his hands coming down to support his weight on the edge of the table. Finnigan, who was passing when it happened, paused to help steady him and they appeared to exchanged a few words before the Irish boy released his grip on Harry. The two boys smiled at each other before Finnigan moved on and Harry righted himself completely.

Draco made sure to add Finnigan to the list of stuff he was angry with.

* * *

Urrrrrgh... 

That, in all it's articulate glory, was exactly how Harry felt. His head throbbed, his throat felt like it had been shredded by blunt razors, his nose was so stuffed up he had no choice other to breathe out of his mouth and every muscle in his body felt as though it had a twenty pound weight attached to it. His vision swam and everything was kind of in a surreal haze. Maybe this wasn't just a cold...

He still had another class to get through before he could go back to bed, curl up and promptly die. Yes, he supposed he could give his work to Hermione or Ron to give in for him but it was a matter of principle now. He had insisted that he would be able to get through the two lessons and that was exactly what he was going to do. Besides, neither of his friends were taking that much notice of him, they were too busy with each other at the moment. Not that he minded too much, it was understandable, he'd be doing the exact same thing if Draco was there with him.

Thinking of Draco, he had looked really cheesed off that morning at breakfast. He hoped the blonde Slytherin wouldn't yell at him too much. In his own opinion, he didn't deserve to be told off anyway but he knew that was too much to hope for. He might get a little mercy because he was ill but the seocnd he was feeling better the yelling would start. At least it showed Draco cared about him...But that was little comfort when he was being scolded.

Harry quickly caught the banister when he almost tripped over a step of the stairs, not realising it was there. He was seriously out of it, he was barely aware of anything really. That morning at the end of breakfast Seamus had apparently said his name three times before he even realised the Irish Gryffindor was speaking to him. He had to admit, it was seriously doubtful that this was just a cold. Maybe it was more like flu or something...

His vision clouding again, Harry paused in his climb and brought a hand up to press against his forehead. He felt really faint and there was a quiet ringing in his ears. He felt himself sway and found that he was powerless to steady himself. Slowly, his balance left him along with his consciousness and he slipped into darkness as his body fell backwards...

* * *

Draco stood alone on the stairs as he waited for it to stop moving. Everyone around eyed him warily. They all knew that the Sixth Year Slytherins currently had Potions down in the dungeons so the presence of Draco Malfoy on a flight of stairs which was going up rather than down was more than a little suspicious. Draco was past caring though. He knew where Harry was heading and he was intent on snagging him before he got into class to give him a piece of his mind. 

He could see the dark haired Gryffindor from where he stood. He was standing just behind his two friends, also waiting for the stairs to stop moving, looking pale, tired and generally un-well. Harry's stumble as he almost tripped over the stairs when it was time to move again wasn't lost on Draco. When he continued on again, Draco knew Harry was not going to last a whole lot longer. With that in mind, he began to climb the stairs at a steady place; he was going to put that stubborn Gryffindor to bed if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Move." Draco ordered in a hard, quiet voice, shoving his way roughly past those who didn't make way for him in time.

Everything seemed to slow down for Draco as he saw Harry begin to crumble and he doubled his efforts to reach the boy he loved before he could pass out completely and possibly end up hurting himself as he fell. He mentally cursed Harry's two friends who were ahead of him, holding hands, oblivious that their friend was on the verge of collapsing. It was only when Harry actually stopped and began to sway that either of the couple noticed the boy's dilemma

"Harry!" Hermione gasped, turning as Harry began to fall backwards, his eyes rolling back in his head. She and Ron went to make a clumsy grab for him but they froze when they saw him being caught by someone else.

"Get your bloody hands off him Malfoy!" Ron demanded angrily as the blonde Slytherin tenderly scooped Harry up in his arms, cradling the limp form to his chest protectively.

"Shove off Weasle." Draco practically spat, turning away swiftly and, almost at a run, made his way back down the stairs, calling back over his shoulder: "If you can't be arsed to look after your own best friend that's your own problem, just don'tthen stopsomeoneelse from doing it."

"Expelli..." He heard Ron start and acting quickly, knowing Harry wouldn't hold it against him later, turned around so that Harry's body blocked his own.

"No Ron, you'll hit Harry!" Hermione gasped, knocking into the red haired boy so that his aim was jolted. The spell shot off to the side and Draco didn't bother to wait to see what effect it had on anything else. It was just the distraction he needed in order to get far enough away.

He heard rather than saw the chaos which broke out among the students who had seen everything. Cries that Draco had hexed Harry and was on his way to take their hero to Voldemort echoed around him and he sneered and the stupidity of them. Running footsteps and calls to various professors soon followed and Draco picked up his pace, not needing to be delayed. Although he wasn't a doctor, it didn't take a genius to figure out that this wasn't just some common cold Harry had picked up. Maybe it was just the flu; worse than a cold but still not deadly...

...Oh my...What if it was deadly? What if it was pneumonia? Or meningitis? Surely Harry would speak out if he found a rash on him. He wouldn't be that stupid to hide the fact he had something that serious right? Draco suddenly had the urge to take Harry to his own room and check his skin for the tell-tale rash which would indicate the serious illness. However, he also knew that if it was meningitis, Harry needed medical attention as soon as possible and even just an extra hour could do so much harm. Then again, what if it was a wizarding disease? Some of those could be pretty serious as well...

To get his mind off of such panicked thoughts, Draco turned his attention back to where he was andnoted that everything was oddly quiet around him now. There were no signs of anyone following him or even being anywhere near him. He wasn't complaining or anything; far from it. He was infinately grateful that there was no one around to get in his way. It was just curious; very curious indeed.

It, expectedly, didn't last forever, although it did take quite a bit of time for things to pick up. It wasn't until Draco had made it half way up the stairs which led up to the Infirmary that people began to catch up to him.

"Mr Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall's voice. Draco totally ignored her.

"Mr Malfoy!" Professor Snape that time.

"What?" Draco yelled irritably, not stopping his climbing but having enough respect for his Head of House to not completely snub him.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" The Potions professor called after him.

"Taking Potter to the hospital wing, what does it look like?" He answered.

"Why?"

Draco gave an annoyed sigh. "What else do you do with someone's who's just passed out?" He asked rhetorically, finally reaching the top of the stairs, finding Madame Pomfrey waiting for him at the entrance having already been alerted by all the yelling.

"What happened?" She demanded harshly, ushering Draco in and directing him over to one of the beds near the back of the room.

"He fainted on the stairs. I managed to catch him before he could fall and hurt himself though." The Slytherin explained, setting Harry down on the bed delicately, adjusting his limp limbs into comfortable positions for him.

"You caught him?" Madame Pomfrey inquired, raising an eyebrow at him slightly as she neared Harry's bed to check him over. Draco found he couldn't quite voice a reply to that and only blushed lightly in slight embarrassment.

Now that most of the drama was over and he was sure that Harry was in good hands, the reality of the events which had just occurred started to creep up on Draco. Their relationship was public now. It didn't take a genuis to figure out that something was going on between him and the Gryffindor by the way he had reacted. He mentally sighed; there went Harry's assurance last night that when they did make their relationship public it would be in a controlled, thoroughly planned, way. They'd have had to make their relationship public knowledge soon anyway, but the way it had happened wasn't exactly what they had both had in mind.

While Madame Pomfrey cast various charms on Harry to check his condition, Draco watched silently, not really seeing what the nurse was doing even though he was staring straight at her. He hoped that Harry wouldn't be too annoyed with his actions. Admittedly, he should've tried to exercise a bit more self-control than he did but he felt totally justified in his actions. When he saw Harry start to wobble, his blood had run cold as various, horrible scenarios began to play out in his head. He'd been entitled to freak out a bit; it was his privilege was a loving, if a little possessive, boyfriend.

"Well," Madame Pomfrey suddenly spoke, pulling Draco out of his thoughts. "He'll need to wake up before I can give him anything to help, but it doesn't seem to be anything life-threatening; a bad case of the flu is all. Now, in the mean time before he wakes up, I need to reassure the Headmaster of the situation. You can stay here with him until he wakes if you wish." The school nurse offered, moving to make her away out of the room.

"Thank you." Draco said politely, perching gracefully on Harry's bed and taking his sickly pale, cold and slightly clammy hand in his own naturally pale, warm and dry one. Madame Pomfrey saw the simple gesture of affection and her gaze on the two boys softened somewhat.

"I take it no one else knows of your relationship with Mr Potter?" She inquired in a surprisingly gentle voice which, if he hadn't been so worried, Draco would've been surprised at.

"Parkingson, but no one else. Besides, it doesn't really matter, anyone who didn't know before probably does now; practically the whole school seemed to be on those stairs when it happened. And those who weren't there have probably been told by those who were." The blonde Slytherin sighed slightly bitterly.

Madame Pomfrey said nothing but nodded despite the fact Draco wasn't even looking at her. She swiftly and quietly left the room to go and speak with the professors which she had just heard finally arrive at the scene. Draco didn't even notice her leaving.

* * *

And there we have Chapter 2. That wasn't a paticularly fluffy chapter was it? The next one will be. It'll be fluffier than a cotton wool ball doing an impression of candy floss, (aka, far too fluffy for any language to be able to adequately get across)  
Take care all and I'll see ya next chapter :)

Hugs  
Dream


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone :)

Final chapter here folks; told you it was going to be a short story :D Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter, they're all very much appreciated. However, I did get one review from someone and it was my first ever flame! Well, it was kind of a weak flame, not really a flame at all more like needless critism...Anyways, no matter what exactly it was, it's the focus of this chapter's little ramble.

Why, oh why, do people read stories labeled SLASH and then write a review complaining about the SLASH? It just really doesn't make any sense. Basically what this review said was that Harry couldn't be gay because he's a hero and heroes aren't gay. Am I the only one who finds that totally offensive? Why can't a hero be gay? There's absolutely no reason at all! Also, they said that Harry couldn't be gay 'cause he has a girlfriend. Erm, fanfiction, hello? I know that Harry isn't gay in the books but I really don't care.

And that's my ramble/rant for the chapter. Now on with the reason you've probably all skipped what I just said :D

* * *

Draco released a slightly bored sigh and flopped back in his chair lazily. Harry had been out for a good few hours now and he was starting to get just a little bored. Plus his legs were starting to go numb and he hated that feeling.

During the first hour, Dumbledore had come to check up on Harry. He had also spoken to Draco at great length about his relationship to the Gryffindor and what his plans were exactly. Draco had answered with as much patience as he could muster and remained civil throughout, though when the Headmaster had left and the door was shut behind him, the Slytherin hadn't hesitated to give the finger in the direction the old man had left in.

During the second hour, Draco had nodded off, the late nights with Harry effecting him just as much as they had the other boy. However, he had been woken after only a few minutes by the sounds of Granger's and Weasley's raised voices. It appeared that Madame Pomfrey had decided that it would be for the best if Harry didn't have any visitors until she was sure that whatever he had wasn't too serious or highly contageous. Draco couldn't care less about her reasoning; he was just glad she was keeping people away. He was in no mood to defend/argue/fight/hex.

That had been the last mildly interesting thing which had happened and Draco had been sitting still, doing nothing, for the last hour and a half. He still held Harry's hand in his own and he had no intension of releasing it but he shifted uncomfortably, trying to get into a position which would relieve the awkward position his leg was in which was causing it to go numb.

Settling down again, Draco huffed and leaned back in his chair so that his head hung over the back of it. He was so incrediably bored! Maybe he could dash to his room quickly and grab a book or some homework or something, anything, to keep himself occupied until Harry woke up...

"Urgh..."

...Or maybe not.

"Harry?" Draco reacted to the small groan from the other boy quickly, lowering his head to look at him and sitting forward earnestly. Harry's eyes were still shut but his forehead was creased in a slight frown.

"Am I dying?" Harry groaned.

"No, you're not dying." Draco reassured with a small laugh.

"Can you kill me then?" The dark haired boy sighed, his face relaxing as his head lulled to the side so he was facing Draco. Slowly, his eyelids lifted to reveal the slightly dulled green beneath. "Hi." He greeted with a weak smile.

"Hey." Draco returned with a weak smile of his own.

Harry's eyes looked around for a second and his frown once again returned. "It's still light outside..." He murmured, confusion evident in his tone. Then, slowly, realisation and dread seeped into his features. "I, you...Did you...Was there a huge scene?"

"Kind of, yeah." Draco sighed reluctantly.

"How many know?"

"It's probably common knowledge by now."

"Wonderful." Harry grunted sarcastically. "Have Ron and Hermione been in to see me?"

"No, Madame Pomfrey's keeping everyone out until she's sure you haven't got something dangerous and contagious."

"You're here though."

"I brought you in; if I'm gonna catch something I'd have caught it by now. Besides, I also get special I-love-Harry-Potter privilidges." Draco grinned

That caused Harry to groan again, though this one was in good nature. "Madame Pomfrey knows about us?"

"I should think all the teachers do by now." Draco revealed with a nod. "Dumbledore's already been in here talking to me about it."

"That is so unbelievably embarrassing." Harry croaked, his voice cracking halfway through the sentence.

"Why?" The blonde inquired, amused with Harry's sudden bashfulness.

"I don't want them thinking about us in that way!" He insisted, his voiced turning into a strained whisper towards the end.

Draco laughed at the explanation but once the laughter died away, he felt the need to clarify a point which seemed to have been by-passed. "Harry, everyone knows about us now."

"I know." He sighed, sounding suddenly tired, his eyes fluttering shut again. "It doesn't matter though. Yes, it hasn't been the ideal way for everyone to find out but there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll just have to see what happens."

"Yeah." Draco agreed, his eyes falling to look down at his shoes. "You know, whatever happens now, you'll always have me, right?" He continued, looking back up and giving Harry's hand a light squeeze.

"I know." The dark haired boy confirmed, smiling gently.

Draco returned the smile and lifted Harry's slightly warmer hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles gently. It was going to be all right, they'd both make sure it was. If they stayed together and didn't let other people get to them then they could get through this. Draco didn't doubt that this was going to be harder for Harry than it would be for himself. Whereas Draco didn't really care for any of his "friends", Harry loved Ron and Hermione dearly. If they didn't accept their relationship easily it would effect Harry greatly. He was pretty confident that Harry wouldn't break their relationship if his friends were against them but he knew for a fact that Harry would react badly.

"Draco? Can I have a cuddle?" Harry asked suddenly in a soft, pleading voice which made the Slytherin's heart melt.

"Of course you can love." Draco smiled gently. Harry shifted away from Draco to give him enough space to lay on the bed beside him. The blonde sat on the edge of the bed first before he swung his legs up and shifted himself so Harry was nestled snuggly against his side. He wrapped an arm protectively around the Boy-Who-Lived and dropped a caring kiss in his hair. "What am I going to do with you, you silly stubborn Gryffindor."

"Well, you could scratch my back since you're offering." Harry answered, his tone innocent and playful.

"I never said anything about scratching your back." Draco contested, looking down at the top of her dark haired lover's head.

"But Draco," Harry whined pathetically, snuggling closer into the blonde's side. "I'm ill."

Draco sighed in exasperation. "I know and it's making you whiney." He grumbled even as he snaked his hand up Harry's school shirt and began to lightly run his long nails across the skin of his back. Harry melted into him instantly and Draco couldn't stop the grin which formed on his lips at the reaction.

One of the first things which Draco had found out about Harry when they had started their relationship was that the dark haired Gryffindor loved being massaged/rubbed/scratched gently etc, etc. His back, shoulders, neck, stomach, arms, hands, legs, feet; you name a body part and Harry would love being rubbed there. Draco often thought that he was a lot like a dog and not just because of his enjoyment of "tummy rubs". Harry was loyal, he was cuddly, he was loving and he could get pretty vicious in a fight. Plus, his hair was so scruffy and untamable but in such wonderful condition that it resembled the healthy coat of a sheep dog.

Although Draco would never admit it out loud, he now really only kept his nails long, (long for a boy anyway) for the benefit of Harry. Long nails were hard to keep looking nice especially with subjects like Potions which were very hands on work. It was worth it for the pleasure he could give Harry though. And he was always well rewarded for his massaging duties.

Draco rested his cheek on top of Harry's head and he gently ran his nails up and down the length of his back. A small noise of contentment came from the dark haired boy just as one of the doors at the other end of the room cracked open. The blonde raised his head and turned to see Madame Pomfrey enter quietly. With a resigned sigh, Draco stopped the motion of his hand and gently slipped it out from underneath Harry's shirt.

"Why did you stop?" Harry murmured drowsily and Draco reckoned the boy had most likely been dozing lightly.

"Madame Pomfey's coming over." The Slytherin revealed as he smoothed down Harry's shirt and kissed the top of his head. Harry made a small noise which was probably something like "oh" but it wasn't clear enough to be a definate thing. He shifted slightly next to Draco and lifted his head to look across the room at the approaching witch.

"Oh good, you've finally woken up Mr Potter." She greeted him briskly. She noted the position the two boys were in and she raised an eyebrow slightly. "Comfortable?"

"Very, thank you." Draco answered for the both of them and tightened his arm around Harry as the Gryffindor tried to edge away, a light blush heating his cheeks.

"Mr Malfoy, you're going to have to move away so that I can carry out the necessary examinations on Mr Potter." Madame Pomfrey told the blonde patiently.

Draco muttered something under his breath about having just got comfortable but moved off of the bed without any fuss, smoothing down his robes a little as he swept around behind Madame Pomfrey and observed as she began to check Harry over. She mumbled several quick spells as she flicked her wand around Harry

"You're fine Mr Potter." The school nurse assured primly when she had finished the check-up. "A bad case of the flu but the symptoms can be eased with a few select potions. I'll go and get them from Professor Snape now." Without further ado, she turned and left again, the open door swinging shut heavily behind her.

Harry pulled a face and gave a small groan of dread. "You should've just let me fall down the stairs."

* * *

Lessons were over for the day, not that Harry or Draco had attended any more of them. About two hours ago, Harry had been fed to the eyeballs with potions and he was feeling much better: he could breathe through his nose again; he felt much more alert and his muscles no longer felt like stones. Draco had then been checked-up soon after that and was given the all clear. Then, just as that had been done and Madame Pomfrey was arguing with the Slytherin that he should go back to lessons, Dumbledore arrived to see them both. He had been his usual cheery self, had given the boys his blessings and then granted Draco permission to take the afternoon off to keep Harry company. Neither Harry or Draco were under any illusions that that was the real reason for the instruction; there was no doubt that there would be several students who wouldn't hesitate to try and hex Draco whether they got him alone or not.

So, there Harry and Draco sat on the bed together playing a game of chess. They sat opposite each other now, mostly only because it was necessary to play the game though. Both boys had around the same number of pieces left on the board but Draco's remaining black pieces were significantly more valuable than Harry's white pieces. Whereas Harry had a handful of Pawns, a Knight, both his Bishops and his King, Draco had both his Knights, one Bishop, one Castle, two Pawns, his Queen and his King.

"You are aware it's your move right?" Draco inquired easily, lifting an eyebrow at the Gryffindor opposite him.

"Yes, now hush, I'm thinking." Harry grunted in reply, his eyes now straying from the board. His voice was still a little raspy but it wasn't as bad as it had been before.

"Don't know why you're bothering; there's no way you're gonna beat me now." The Slytherin pointed out, an arrogant tinge in his tone.

"I told you to hush." Harry mumbled.

Draco sighed and lay back on the bed carefully, making sure not to jog the chess board as he did. He stretched gracefully, his back arching off the bed and his arms held out over the edge of the bed. Once a sufficiant number of bones had cracked pleasantly, he relaxed with a sigh, his arms remaining dangling over the edges of the bed.

Just then, the door to the Infimary opened, calling the attention of both boys. They both looked over to see the dark, imposing figure of Professor Snape walking swiftly over to them. Seeing that it was no one to be particularly concerned about, Harry returned his gaze to the chess board while Draco allowed a small smirk, which passed for a smile in his case, to grace his lips.

"Sev." Draco greeted the sour man easily, not bothering to sit up now that he had just got comfortable.

"Draco." Professor Snape nodded to the blonde Slytherin. "Potter." He greeted Harry neutraly with a stiff nod.

"Professor." Harry replied absently, eyes still focused on the chess pieces.

"What can we do for you Sev?" The blonde Slytherin inquired lazily.

"You can tell me just exactly what you both think you're playing at." Snape replied tightly.

"Well, if Harry would hurry up, we could go back to playing chess..."

"Don't get smart with me Draco." The older man scolded sharply. "You know what I mean. This...Relationship, between the two of you, you can't possibly think that it's a good idea..."

"I personally think it's one of our better ideas, don't you Draco?" Harry spoke up suddenly, sending a glance at the boy he loved.

"I think it's the only good idea I've ever had." Draco agreed, still laying on his back though he moved his head so he was staring up at the ceiling rather than his Godfather.

"Be that as it may, other people will not share your sentiments." Snape pointed out seriously. "Your father isn't going to..."

"My father," Draco interrupted quickly, his voice hard and determined, "can go and kiss the arse of his precious Dark Lord. I have no interest in bowing to anyone but Harry."

"Kinky." Harry grinned, finally looking up.

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it!" The blonde boy protested, his face heating in a slight blush.

"Draco," Professor Snape began, calling the attention of the boys' back to him. "Your father isn't going to take this lightly." He finished his previous sentence.

"No one is." Harry pointed out.

"But we don't care." Draco continued.

"We were planning on going public soon anyway,"

"It just happened a little sooner than planned."

"It doesn't matter what other people think of us,"

"As long as we stick together,"

"We'll be all right."

Snape gave them both a disbelieving look. "You have both been spending far too much time together." The two boys gave simultaneous, identical shrugs and the professor shook his head. "Such eloquent answers; you've picked up too many Gruffindor habits Draco."

"Oh well." The blonde shrugged again.

"Is there no chance of talking you out of this?" Snape sighed. Both boys shook their heads. "Very well. Since you'll both need all the support you can get and although I find much to be desired your choice in love-interest Draco, you have my blessing on the matter."

"Thanks Sev." Draco said with a genuine smile.

"Yes, well, I'll leave you two gentlemen to yourselves now." Professor Snape told them. "I will see you in the Great Hall at dinner no doubt?"

Draco nodded. "I do believe Madame Pomfrey intends to release Harry by then."

Snape simply nodded at that; a nod which doubled as a farewell because he then turned and left the two boys alone once again. Draco watched him go until the door had shut behind him completely before then turning back to look at the dark haired Gryffindor. He found Harry looking back at him with an impish grin on his face. The smile confused the blonde Slytherin at first until his gaze flickered down to the chess board where his King now lay shattered in several pieces. His eyes returned to Harry who wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Checkmate."

* * *

Dinner came far too in Harry's opinion and before he knew it, he and Draco were standing in front of the closed doors to the Great Hall, getting ready to go in and face the rest of the school. Unable to tell exactly how the blonde Slytherin was feeling, Harry couldn't draw comfort from knowing the other boy felt that same. He desperately wished to know whether Draco's heart was beating a mile a minute like his own was, he wanted to know that the other boy was as petrified as he was.

"Ready?" Draco suddenly asked quietly, lifting Harry's right hand to his lips and placing a swift kiss on the knuckles.

"Not really." Harry answered, his rough voice wavering slightly half way through the short sentence.

"It's gonna be okay." The blonde assured him gently, bringing his other hand up to rub his thumb across the dark haired boy's cheek. "We'll go in there together and everything will be fine. I'll be right by your side the entire time."

Harry studied Draco for several moments in silence before speaking: "Are you scared?"

"Petrified." Draco admitted through a shuddered sigh before offering a weak smile which Harry returned.

With a silent agreement, they leaned closer together and their lips met gently, Draco tilting Harry's head back a little with the hand which still cupped the still slightly pale cheek. It wasn't a particularly deep kiss and it didn't last that long as Harry was getting a bit snuffed up again, but it seemed to give both boys the reassurment they needed. They parted slowly, softly bumping noses as they did. Much more confident smiles were then exchanged before they moved back to each others' sides, their hands remaining clasped.

"Ready now?" Draco grinned lightly.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, now I'm ready."

Draco nodded in return and they stepped forward together. They reached out with their free hands and pushed a door each. Said doors hadn't even fully opened before they were obviously seen as silence filled the Great Hall. Harry fought the desire to run and drag Draco along with him and, instead, moved stiffly in the hall beside the blonde Slytherin.

All eyes were on them as they headed towards the Gryffindor table as they'd both agreed earlier that it was probably the safer option. However, when Ron stood suddenly from the table and stalked over to them, Harry wondered just how safe they really would be at his House table. He tightened his grip on Draco's hand and pulled him back discreetly as they came to a stop, putting himself in front of the blonde a little. Surely Ron wasn't going to start something in the middle of the Great Hall in front of the entire school. The youngest male Weasley's face was unreadable though and he had no real idea how his best friend was currently feeling.

Ron stopped a foot or so in front of the couple and for several minutes, no one moved or spoke. Then, eventually, the red head spoke in a strangely neutral tone: "Malfoy."

"Weasley." Draco returned, matching the red-head's tone exactly.

"Do you love him?" Ron asked simply, his eyes not straying from the blonde Slytherin.

"Very much so." He assured.

"Do you plan on staying with him?"

"Of course."

Ron took a few more moments to look Draco over with a hard stare. Harry watched the exchange between the two most important boys in his life nervously, not completely sure what to expect from either of them. His eyes flickered from the Gryffindor to the Slytherin and then back again continuously until Ron suddenly held out his right hand.

"Welcome to the family." He said, a slight grin gracing his face.

Harry's jaw dropped at the immediate acceptence from his best friend and the ease at which Draco accepted the offered hand and shook it. The rest of the Great Hall appeared to be stunned as well as Harry noticed that several other jaws literally dropped at the sight of the two enemies shaking hands.

Draco and Ron dropped each others hands and then Ron turned. Taking the hint and silent invitation, Draco gave Harry's arm a small pull seeing as the Gryffindor was still in a state of shock. Harry followed along without fuss and the three boys made their way over to where Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table.

Upon reaching the table, Hermione gave a pointed look to Neville and Seamus who were sitting beside each other to her left. They both shifted up without comment and Hermione followed them. When there was enough room on the bench to sit three more people, Ron claimed his seat next to the brown haired girl, Harry sat beside Ron and Draco sat beside Harry, their hands unclasping as they arranged themselves in their seats. Plates and cutlery were shifted until the newly seated couple had a plate each and a set of knives and forks.

Once they were settled and everyone was still looking at them, Draco turned to the majority of the Hall and glared at them all darkly. Harry, for his part, was trying to be as invisible as possible. However, it wasn't long before Dumbledore had enough and spoke up: "Please everyone, return to your meals."

Noise returned to the Great Hall instantly at the Headmaster's request and Harry allowed himself to settle completely. He gave Ron and Hermione a bright smile which they returned with equal enthusiasm. Turning, Harry then directed the smile to Draco, taking his hand under the table again. Their fingers laced together and the blonde gave a light sqeeze as he returned the smile.

On the whole, that could've turned out worse.

* * *

And that, my friends, is that. My fluffly little piece of fluff is complete. Everyone always makes Ron out to be a jerk in these situations so I thought I'd make him more understanding :)  
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it, I must say I had fun writing it. You'll probably see me again, I know I'll continue to be floating around reading happy stories and submitting my weird but nice reviews. And I'll write again if I come up with a suitable idea for a my next piece of Harry and Draco fluff.  
Catch ya'll again soon. Take care 'til next time :)

Hugs  
Dream


End file.
